Article from BTNews 3 DECEMBER 2018
Long-distance Air New Zealand
Another long-distance air journey entered the record books on Friday with Air New Zealand’s inaugural flight between Auckland and Chicago. Timed at 15hr northbound and just over 16hr southbound, it is the airline’s longest flight, taking over from Auckland – Houston at 13.5hr.
Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon, who was on the inaugural, said the new service meant “exciting new opportunities” for business and leisure travellers to the USA's third-biggest city and the east coast of the USA and Canada.
“We’re excited to offer passengers this direct link,” he added. “With our alliance partner United operating more flights out of its O’Hare hub than any other airline, the new service to Chicago will offer convenient one-stop codeshare connections to some 100 US destinations.
“New Zealand already welcomes around 340,000 visitors annually from the US and we anticipate this number will now grow, while the route will contribute around NZD$70m (about £38m) annually to our economy.
The new flights are operated by an ANZ Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner and depart Auckland on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)
All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum